Category Main Dish

Headline News:

Did you hear the details of the latest high-risk health hazard food recall or allergy alert issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency? If your answer is no, consider subscribing to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s email notification services and receive prompt, detailed, and accurate information directly in your in-box. Subscribe here: www.inspection.gc.ca. Or follow on twitter @CFIA_Food. For a list of the most recent public advisories on allergy alerts and high-risk food recalls click here: www.inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings

Grocery Store Find:

Unearthed: Mycryo powdered cocoa butter, a new form of healthier cooking, at Cousin’s Gourmet Market in Port Credit and on-line at www.goldaskitchen.com

Farm Market Find:

Spirit Tree Estate Cidery’s sparkling apple cider is ready now! Perfect for holiday entertaining. Try some out in their bistro and enjoy a delicious lunch too. Read more info here: www.olivetoeat.com

Restaurant News:

Paramount Fine Foods at Erin Mills Town Centre is opening at 8:00 a.m. on Friday November 15, 2013. Read about my visit to Paramount’s Crestlawn Drive location here:  www.olivetoeat.com

Port Credit’s newly renovated Snug Harbour looks modern, spacious, and beautiful. The Roasted Beet Salad with arugula, chèvre, and a well-balanced sweet honey vinaigrette is delicious.

I often think of the women of my church as the Divas Who Dish Divinely. After countless bake sales, church luncheons, and casseroles for friends in need, years of practice have perfected their “from-scratch” recipes and turned them into best-in-show treasures.

The Divas Who Dish Divinely (AKA Streetsville United Church Women) will be dishing up some delicious food again at the 46^th annual Streetsville United Church Harvest of Crafts Sale, this Saturday October 26, 2013 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at Streetsville United Church.

Olive the Streetsville United Church Harvest of Crafts Sale because it invites the surrounding community to come together under one roof. Our fundraising efforts help support various local outreach programs. And of course, the food is delicious.

Our all-day café offers you a spot to sit, chat, and replenish your shopping-weary soul. Several women make their own batches of chili con carne and chicken soup, then combine them all into one heavenly pot of chili and one ethereal pot of chicken soup. Sandwiches, salads, and homemade desserts are made with care.

Make the baking table your first stop: delectable pies, cakes, cookies, and squares are all made from scratch and sell out quickly. Our local harvest is preserved in pretty jars to enjoy throughout winter. The sale is brimming with creative and witty, inexpensive crafts made by the talented Streetsville United Church Women. Local artisans offer a variety of unique, handcrafted gifts. There is always a special find in the Attic Treasures collection of gently-used modern and vintage finds. Come and get your Christmas shopping done early.

After working all day at the craft show, while the aroma of simmering chili wafts from the kitchen, I come home tired and craving chili. Here is my recipe.

Chili Con Carne

This classic chili simmers for five hours but it is much more flavourful cooked slowly and lovingly on the stovetop than abandoned in a slow cooker. Start it early in the day, refrigerate overnight, and reheat gently the next day to further deepen the flavour. If you have two large pots, you can double the recipe and stock your freezer with chili to warm up the chilly months that lie ahead.

I learned this old Southern tip from my friend, Bill, (who learned it from his friend from Kansas City): gently stir in a tablespoon of peanut butter near the end of cooking to smooth out the acidity and round out the flavour of the chili. For years I made this recipe without the peanut butter and still loved it, so if there is a peanut-allergy concern, leave it out.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil

About 2 pounds (1kg) extra lean ground sirloin

2 yellow cooking onions, chopped

6 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 yellow or orange sweet bell peppers, cored, seeded, and chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 28 fl oz/796 mL can diced tomatoes

1 19 oz / 540 mL can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed, drained again

1 28 fl oz/796 mL can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon white sugar

2 tablespoons ground chili powder, to taste

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 bay leaves

Finish:

1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter

Freshly ground black pepper and coarse salt, to taste

Few dashes of hot sauce (such as Tabasco or Piri Piri), to taste

Optional Garnishes: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, lime wedges, hot sauce, chopped avocado, fresh cilantro leaves, tortilla chips, or garlic bread.

Directions:

1. Heat a large heavy pot over medium heat; add onions and ground sirloin and brown, breaking up with a wooden spoon and stirring frequently, just until meat is no longer pink inside, about 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add remaining ingredients, except peanut butter; stir. Partially cover with a lid; simmer for 4 3/4 hours, stirring occasionally.
4. To finish, stir in peanut butter and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 more minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and hot sauce.
5. Let cool and then refrigerate overnight to allow flavours to mellow further. When ready to serve, reheat gently. Serve hot with your choice of optional garnishes.

Harvest of Crafts Sale Hours: Saturday October 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Free Admission. Appreciate your support.

View Larger Map

Move over beef tacos, there’s a new dish in town. My Shrimp Tacos are easy, healthy, and packed with refreshing flavour. Succulent pre-cooked shrimp are briefly marinated in cilantro, mint, lime, garlic, aji amarillo paste, sugar, and salt – a mouthwatering melody of sweet, sour, spicy, and salty. Served in a soft tortilla spread with avocado purée and a lick of lime juice, they are everything I want in a shrimp taco. My son named them his new favourite food. Olive to make my son happy!

Aji amarillo paste is a simple blend of orange-fleshed, medium-hot Peruvian chili peppers, which are prized for their unique fruitiness. Aji means chili pepper and amarillo means yellow. Although very common in Peruvian cooking, aji amarillo peppers can be hard to find here. I was thrilled to find aji amarillo paste (sold in jars)

and the much sought-after, frozen, whole aji amarillo peppers (imported from Peru) in Latin Super Chicken Rotisserie – a little Latin American grocery store that also sells Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, located at the corner of Queen and Britannia, in Streetsville. I confirmed by phone that the stores Rincon de Espana in Port Credit and El Tropical in Oakville also carry aji amarillo paste.

Olive’s Shrimp Tacos

Serves 3 to 4

If you can’t find aji amarillo paste, Tabasco sauce is an adequate substitute for this recipe.

Marinade Ingredients:

1 lime

1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh mint leaves

1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 large clove of garlic

1 teaspoon aji amarillo paste (Peruvian yellow hot pepper paste)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

Taco Ingredients:

454 g (1 lb.) frozen cooked, peeled shrimp 61/70

1 avocado

2 green onions, finely sliced

8 medium soft flour tortillas

1 lime, quartered

Optional garnish:

Extra coriander sprigs

Directions:

1. Defrost shrimp according to package directions; drain. Remove tail shells and discard. Place shrimp in a paper-towel-lined bowl, cover and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour to drain well.
2. Meanwhile, grate the lime zest into the bowl of a small food processor. Juice the lime and add to the zest; add remaining marinade ingredients and then process until well-blended.
3. Pour out 1 tablespoon of marinade and set aside in fridge for later use with the avocado. Pour remaining marinade in a large, re-sealable Ziploc bag and seal. Refrigerate until 1 hour before eating.
4. One hour before eating, place shrimp in marinade bag. Squeeze out the air and seal tightly. Massage the marinade into the shrimp until evenly coated. Place in the fridge and marinade for 1 hour.
5. Just before serving, warm tortillas in the oven as per package instructions.
6. Meanwhile, cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop the flesh into a medium bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado into a purée. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon reserved marinade and stir thoroughly. Spread ⅛^th of the avocado puree on one half of each tortilla.
7. Dump marinated shrimp into a colander set in the sink and drain briefly. Place about ⅛^th of the shrimp on top of the avocado puree. Sprinkle with green onions and fresh coriander sprig, if desired. Fold other half of tortilla over.
8. Serve with immediately with lime wedges.

You can find aji amarillo paste at:

If you can’t make it out to Canada’s Largest Ribfest this weekend (August 30th to September 2^nd in Burlington’s Spencer Smith Park), here’s a recipe you can enjoy in your own backyard. Sure to put the smile back on any last-day-of-summer sad face, my Kansas City-style Barbeque Ribs are a great way to end summer vacation.

There are a few easy steps involved but most of the work is done ahead of time, making these ribs perfect for special occasions. My ribs are steam-baked in homemade barbeque sauce and a slow oven the day before, chilled in the fridge overnight, and then finished on the grill for 15 minutes to impart a smoky flavour and a caramelized crust. The end result: tender ribs in a lip-smackin’, finger-lickin’ homemade sauce that is dead-on delicious. And you don’t have to worry about a grill for hours.

My barbeque sauce recipe is Kansas City-style: tangy, sweet and a bit spicy – just the way olive it! Make the barbeque sauce at least one day ahead – the flavours deepen overnight. I make a big batch and freeze it in smaller portions. The acidity of the vinegar in the sauce will be mellowed by the richness of the meat – both setting each other off perfectly, I think – so don’t judge the sauce until you taste it on the finished ribs.

Olive’s Big Batch Kansas City-style Barbeque Sauce

Delicious on ribs or chicken. Make one day in advance.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 cup water

3 cups tomato ketchup

1 cup apple cider vinegar

⅔ cup Worcestershire sauce

½ cup prepared yellow mustard

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1 cup honey

½ cup hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)

2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat; add garlic and sauté, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, so the garlic doesn’t burn; add the remaining ingredients to the pot and stir thoroughly with a whisk.
3. Set the pot back over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently; immediately reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
4. Store overnight in the refrigerator to allow the flavours to deepen, or freeze for longer storage. Freeze in 2 cup portions. One 2-cup portion is enough for 2 racks of ribs.

The method I use to cook the ribs (that I learned from a Trish Magwood Party Dish recipe – Sticky Barbeque Ribs) infuses the meat with barbeque sauce. The key is to seal the ribs very tightly in foil and then slow roast them in the oven for two hours until they are fully cooked – you will be rewarded with tender ribs that just need finishing on the grill.

Another key to success is to chill the ribs to firm the meat before grilling them – so after I bake my ribs in the oven, I chill them in the fridge overnight and then put them on the grill cold (straight from the fridge) to finish them. I learned this tip from a cooking show long ago; it has always worked, I didn’t ask why….but then I thought my readers deserved to know the science behind it. So, I went to The Food Lab and asked part-scientist/part-chef Kenji López-Alt (Chief Creative Officer, Serious Eats) for his expert opinion and am grateful to have received his prompt answer which he has allowed me to share with you:

“…chilling increases the viscosity of internal juices which makes them a little firmer so they don’t fall apart. It also lets you char the exterior without drying them out.”

Kenji Lopez-Alt’s weekly column The Food Lab on Seriouseats.com explores the science of home cooking. Click here to read his column, follow him on Twitter or Facebook or send him an e-mail. Thank you Mr. López-Alt!

Ribs should be cooked until they come cleanly off the bone when you bite in but are not falling off the bone when you pick them up to eat them. If you follow my recipe, that’s how your ribs will turn out.

Olive’s Kansas City-style Barbeque Ribs

Serves 4 (half rack portions)

A great make-ahead dish for a summer barbeque party. Prepare these ribs one day prior to grilling them.

Ingredients:

2 racks baby back pork ribs (back membrane removed – ask your butcher or do yourself)

2 cups Olive’s Big Batch Kansas City-style Barbeque Sauce

4 17”-square pieces of heavy-duty aluminum foil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275ºF. Cut each rib rack in half.
2. Measure ½ cup of barbeque sauce into a separate container to brush on the raw ribs; do not contaminate the remaining barbeque sauce – refrigerate it for basting the pre-baked ribs on the grill and for serving on the table the next day.
3. Brush both sides of the ribs with the ½ cup of barbeque sauce, dividing it evenly among the 4 sections.
4. See instructional photos below. Place one rib section, meaty side up, on the centre of each piece of foil. Fold the sides of the foil up towards the ceiling. Leaving an air pocket on top of the ribs, bring the foil edges together at the top and fold down about ¾”; crimp tightly all along the edge with your fingers to make an airtight package; fold down two more times the same way. Repeat the same process to seal both ends of the packet. Take care not to puncture the foil during this process.
5. Carefully transfer wrapped ribs to a rimmed baking sheet; place tray on the middle oven rack of a 275ºF degree oven; bake for 2 hours.
6. After 2 hours, remove ribs from the oven but don’t open the packets; let cool, sealed in their packets, at room temperature for 15 minutes.
7. Carefully open hot foil packets. Remove ribs from foil and place in a baking dish; discard remaining juices and foil. Cover dish with plastic wrap. Chill ribs in the fridge overnight. Do not remove from the fridge until you are ready to grill – the meat should be chilled thoroughly when you put the ribs on the grill.
8. When ready to serve the next day, preheat grill to medium heat. Remove the cold ribs from the baking dish and place the ribs directly on a clean, well-oiled grill; immediately baste with barbeque sauce and grill for 5 minutes. Flip and baste again with barbeque sauce; grill for another 5 minutes. Flip and baste with sauce two more times, grilling for about 5 more minutes or until sauce is caramelized, lightly charred, and the meat is hot.  In total, you should have basted 4 times total and grilled for about 15 minutes or so.
9. Serve remaining ½ cup sauce in a bowl on the table for those who want to brush more sauce on their ribs.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Olive Middle Eastern food. Healthy and flavourful, it always makes me feel good after I eat it. I fell in love with Middle Eastern food almost at the same moment that I fell in love with my Egyptian husband. First the husband, then his family, then the food.

My husband’s family are talented cooks who love to host gastronomical extravaganzas.  Every generation of the family gathers around one long table, lavishly laden with delicious food. There is lots of love, laughter, good wine and even the odd heated debate just to keep things lively. They take food seriously and whether cooking Middle Eastern, French, Spanish, Italian, British, or Quebecois, they always search out the finest ingredients and prepare them carefully. Soon we will be welcoming Southeast Asian cooking into our wonderful, multicultural clan.

My mother-in-law, Mado, is a fabulous cook (and a lovely mother-in-law). Years of practice have perfected her cooking and engrained her recipes in her memory. There is nary a cookbook in sight. When I visit, I try hard to watch, translate, and learn so I can pass her recipes down to generations to come.

My mouth still waters when I recall a simple barbeque she held at her home one summer evening, when I was first getting to know the family. She char-grilled whole red snappers and served them with a delicious, creamy sauce made of ground sesame paste (tahina), lemon, and garlic. It was as yummy as it was unusual. That was my introduction to tahina sauce which quickly grew in to a love affair. Olive it the most on grilled or roasted fish. It’s especially delectable with meaty salmon or trout.

Olive it drizzled on grilled beef or chicken shish kebabs.

Olive to let it trickle down into my rice.  It heightens the flavour of Lebanese wrapped pita sandwiches, such as shawarma and falafel. It is essential in a good hummus and a good baba ghanoush. It is healthy and it’s so easy to make. Let me teach you how.

First, let’s talk about the ingredients. Here are all of the ingredients that you will need, plus cold water.

Make sure your lemons are large and roll them under your hand for a spell, to make them easier to juice. Choose four big, fresh cloves of garlic – go bold or go home (okay, do three if you feel a bit wimpy). If you can, buy your ground cumin from an Arabic store, where it has a high turnover and will be nice and fresh. Hmmm, I could smell the earthy fragrance of this cumin as I was taking this photo. This is my favourite brand of tahina paste, available at Adonis or Loblaws.

Store your jar of tahina paste upside down, set in a small bowl, in your cupboard. This will allow the oil on top to rise up through the paste, making it much easier to stir. It will keep in your cupboard for far longer than it will take for you to use it up. Because the paste is so thick, it is very important to stir tahina paste thoroughly before measuring it, to break up any clumps and to mix the oil in completely.

Now, a bit about the method. Tahina sauce needs to be blended properly with cold water. Mado always mixes it by hand, adding the water bit by bit and stirring while it breaks apart, then continuing to stir until it comes back together into a creamy blend. I get the same results in a food processor.

I like to make a batch of tahina sauce at the beginning of the week to serve with grilled fish. And then I use some to make baba ghanoush or hummus later on in the week. If there is any left over at the end of the week, we like to drizzle it over store-bought rotisserie chicken.

Sauce Tahina Mado

Makes about 2 1/2 cups

1 cup of tahina paste (stir well in jar before measuring)

Juice of 3 large lemons

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced to a purée (in the above salt)

1 teaspoon of ground cumin plus a sprinkle for garnish

About 1 ¼ cup of cold water (depending on thickness of tahina paste – see instructions)

Mado’s Method By Hand:

1. Before measuring the tahina paste, stir it very well to break up any hard chunks and blend thoroughly. Place the tahina in a medium bowl. Add the cold water, bit by bit, stirring each time. The tahina will separate and stiffen. Continue slowly adding the water (about 1 cup to 1 1/4 cups of water in total) and stirring until the tahina and water come back together into a creamy, pale sauce.
2. Add the lemon, salt, garlic, and cumin. Stir well. Adjust the salt to taste, to bring out a punch of lemon and garlic. Add more lemon, if necessary. Garnish with a light sprinkle of cumin. Store in the refrigerator.

Food Processor Method:

1. Before measuring the tahina paste, stir it very well to break up any hard chunks and blend thoroughly. Place all of the ingredients, except for the water, in a food processor.
2. Add the water slowly, using just enough to end up with a pale, smooth, creamy sauce (about 1 cup to 1 1/4 cups of water in total). The tahina will separate and stiffen at first and then become smooth. Adjust the salt to taste, to bring out a punch of lemon and garlic. Add more lemon, if necessary. Garnish with a light sprinkle of cumin. Store in the refrigerator.

Simple Grilled Fish (wonderful with Tahina Sauce)

Trout, salmon or red snapper fillets

Extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Dried Marjoram

1. Place fillets on a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Turn up the edges of the foil to make a rim (so that the oil doesn’t leak out on to your grill).
2. Dress the fillets with a light drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of kosher salt, a grinding of black pepper, and a dusting of dried marjoram.
3. Grill the fish on the foil, at 425 degrees, until white proteins start to come to the surface and the fish is done to your liking. It will continue to cook a bit as it rests off of the grill. Alternatively, place on a baking sheet and roast in a 425 degree oven. Serve with a drizzle of tahina sauce and garnish with grilled lemons or fresh lemon halves.

Grilled Lemons

Lemons

Extra-virgin olive oil

1. Cut some lemons in half. Toss in some olive oil.
2. Place, cut side down, on a grill and grill for as long as the fish cooks, until slightly charred. Serve as a garnish for fish. Use caution when squeezing to avoid being burned by the hot juice.

One last thing. After every fish dinner, Mado recites “Après le poisson, il faut le dessert” (after fish, you must have dessert). And so I am leaving you with a little treat.

Adonis Rodin Mangue mango mousse – 250 decadent grams of sheer heaven. Made of luscious mango pulp, sugar, gelatin, and crème frâiche. Enough to share. The perfect treat after fish! Olive it!